


rainwater

by miracleboysatori



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-08 11:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21475087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miracleboysatori/pseuds/miracleboysatori
Summary: If rain brings Tendou joy, then Ushijima’s happy for him. It’s not something he’ll ever come to personally understand, and he’s certain that he’ll never share the same enthusiasm for water falling from the sky. Rainwater serves a few good purposes, namely helping plants grow and offering moisture to dry land. But Ushijima doesn’t need to be watered. Maybe Tendou does, though that wouldn’t necessarily make sense to Ushijima.Unsurprising, because not much about Tendou makes sense to Ushijima in the first place. He supposes it doesn’t have to; he appreciates his friendship regardless, but he does wonder sometimes what it must be like to occupy the same headspace as him.
Relationships: Tendou Satori & Ushijima Wakatoshi, Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 26
Kudos: 445





	rainwater

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pseudoanalytics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pseudoanalytics/gifts).

> this was my way of shoving just a fraction of my emotions into a fic after getting to spend time irl with someone i care very deeply about. i hope they know what they mean to me, because it's A Lot. 
> 
> so! this is for quip, who's helped me relearn how to give myself fully, helped me tear down some pretty strong walls, and who's accepted me despite (and maybe because of) my flaws. thanks for letting me into your world, i'm so happy and safe here, and i'm excited for whatever's next ♡
> 
> and for those of you who somehow don't know who quip is, please check out their [twitter](https://twitter.com/newttxt), they're always providing the ushiten and shiratorizawa communities with prime content, we're lucky to have them
> 
> the original inspiration for this fic came from ['titus was born' by young the giant](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfUehM8vvuc), which is a song i've associated with ushiten for a little while now. i never really had anyone share the same enthusiasm about it until quip heard it and 100% agreed, which felt Super Validating LOL
> 
> and, one final note, i don't have a beta, so any mistakes are my own. i read through my stuff before i post it but i still tend to miss little things. so! if there are any, i apologize! i try to revisit things a while after i post them, so i will eventually notice and fix them ;; but for now, thanks for being patient with me ♡ i hope you enjoy!

“Ah, it’s raining.”

Ushijima stares outside the door frame leading into Shiratorizawa’s gymnasium, watching the heavy and unrelenting stream of rain falling from the sky. He’d definitely checked the weather this morning, but saw no mention of any kind of storm. He supposes weather apps and forecasters make mistakes sometimes, but still. Sudden weather changes are always a bit frustrating. 

Shirabu slips past him, easily unwrapping a large black umbrella before proceeding outside into the rain. Kawanishi follows suit, though he uses his team jacket instead, draping it over his head in order to shield himself. 

As Ushijima is considering just how silly it is to use an article of clothing for this purpose, especially since it’ll only get damp and soggy, Semi gently bumps into him and offers a quick apology. He’s in the process of attempting to unfurl an old and tattered umbrella. Ushijima doesn’t think it’ll serve much purpose, but it’s certainly a much smarter option than a jacket. 

“Shirabu-san!” Goshiki is here now, rushing towards the door and calling after the setter, “I forgot mine, can we share?”

Shirabu doesn’t slow down, he just glances back at Goshiki as if he’s just said the dumbest thing he’s ever heard. Really, it’s his usual response to the first year.

“No. Next time don’t be so forgetful.”

Goshiki huffs, and when he does it looks to Ushijima like his hair sort of puffs up, though he isn’t sure how that would be physically possible. 

“Here, Tsutomu,” Semi, who’s finally successfully undone his own umbrella, lifts it over his and Goshiki’s heads, “just stick close and you’ll be fine.”

Goshiki bows in thanks, head bumping awkwardly against the interior of the umbrella as he comes back up. Before the pair can even step outside, Yamagata rushes past them, gym bag held over his head. Another strange choice, Ushijima notes. 

He’s about to ask if Semi might have an extra umbrella, but two things stop him before he can say anything. First, his own logic that it would make no sense if Semi did in fact have an extra. If he did, he would have offered it to Goshiki instead of sharing his own.

The second interruption is none other than Tendou, barrelling through the gym at top speed, making zero hesitation as he leaps into the stream of rain outside. He makes a whooping sound, clearly unfazed by the fact that the clean clothes he’s just changed into are now completely soaked. His hair is flat in seconds, shifting back into its natural bowl cut, surely that would bother him, right? 

Judging by his huge smile and the sound of his laughter, Ushijima guesses he’s not bothered in the slightest. If anything, it looks like he’s having _fun_, despite the circumstances. 

“Wakatoshi-kun, what’re you doing just standing there?” he calls out, hair flinging water inside the gym as he does a spin, “C’mon!”

“I don’t want to get wet,” Ushijima explains, gripping the strap of his bag, “I will wait for the rain to stop.”

Tendou tilts his head to the side, making one of those faces where a single eyebrow raises unnaturally high, “Suit yourself!” he shrugs, spinning again before dashing off after the rest of the team.

Ushijima watches him go, a familiar feeling washing over him. It’s a mix of confusion, fascination, and, admittedly, a bit of frustration. 

Tendou has a habit of making him feel this way.

“Here, Wakatoshi, we can share.”

Ushijima turns to the source of the voice, regarding Reon with a thankful nod.

“I did not realize it would rain.”

“No worries,” Reon waves it off, signature smile radiating warmth, “might have to squeeze close, but it’ll be fine.”

Effectively shielded from the storm by a navy blue umbrella, the pair step out of the gym and into the torrent. Ushijima locks the gym door behind them, safety slipping the keys back into his bag before heading off towards their shared dorm room.

**\-----**

_purchase an umbrella_

Ushijima makes a small note in his planner, adding a star next to it for emphasis. He doesn’t want to end up in the same situation he’d been in the night before. Admittedly, it was a bit embarrassing, especially when he’d accidentally stepped in a large puddle and soaked both his and Reon’s pants legs. His friend had, of course, laughed it off and said it was okay, but Ushijima still felt slightly guilty.

Rain isn’t his preferred weather. In fact, it’s probably his _least_ favorite. You can’t jog in the rain, you can’t feel the warmth of the sun, you might slip and fall into a puddle, and it’s certainly annoying to have to constantly wipe water off your face. 

It’s inconvenient.

Class ends and it’s lunch time. Ushijima falls in step next to Yamagata as they leave their classroom. The libero is going on about how boring the lecture had been, bragging about how he’d managed to effectively keep using a pencil he’d sharpened down to be less than an inch long. 

“That seems pointless,” Ushijima remarks.

Yamagata stops in his tracks in the hallway, biting his lower lip as if holding back a barrage of laughter. Ushijima cocks his head.

“Not really,” Yamagata says, snorting lightly, “the pencil definitely had a _point_.”

Ushijima blinks. His friend’s face look expectant, as if he’s waiting eagerly for Ushijima to do something.

“You said it was pointless. But the pencil _did_ have a _point_…,” Yamagata lightly elbows him in the arm, “get it?”

“I don’t,” Ushijima shakes his head.

Yamagata seems unfazed. He shrugs and grins, laughing as he leads the way towards the cafeteria.

**\-----**

“D’ya think it’ll rain again this week?” Tendou shovels another ridiculously sized bunch of rice into his unnaturally large mouth.

“The forecast doesn’t say anything about rain the rest of the week,” Reon replies, scrolling through the weather app on his phone, “but who knows? Last night was an anomaly.”

“Reon-san,” Goshiki leans forwards towards his senpai, “what does that mean? ‘Anomaly’?”

Before Reon can even answer, Semi clears his throat and gestures across the table towards Tendou, who’s somehow seated with both his knees drawn up against his chest. His head is resting on both, rising and falling with his chewing.

“This one is an anomaly,” Semi snorts, “that’s all you need to know.”

“Semisemi’s sense of style is also an anomaly,” Tendou chuckles, bits of food flying out of his mouth. 

Tendou flings a piece of rice towards his roommate. Semi unsuccessfully ducks and the rice hits him directly in the forehead.

“Ah! Does it mean ‘awesome’?” Goshiki’s response is so genuine that it almost makes Ushijima smile.

“No,” Semi shakes his head, alreading preparing to fling a spoonful of his own rice, “definitely not.”

“‘Anomaly’ means something unexpected, or abnormal,” Reon finally gives an actual answer, resting his hand on Semi’s wrist and easing it down, “the storm last night wasn’t expected, so it was an anomaly.”

“I see!” Goshiki’s eyes light up with understanding.

“Anyway, I hope it rains again,” Tendou interrupts, setting his utensils into a now empty bowl, “next time I’ll definitely get one of you to trip and fall in a puddle,” he laughs.

“Do that and I’ll make sure you won’t be physically able to participate in practice,” Shirabu mumbles from the end of the table.

“Is that an offer? Are you offering me the gift of skipping practice, Kenjirou?” Tendou leans forward and to the side, shoulder bumping into his empty bowl and hair brushing the surface of the table. His eyes are fixed on Shirabu.

How is it that he can move like that? Ushijima vaguely wonders.

Shirabu doesn’t reply.

Ushijima’s mind is going in circles again. He’s not sure why Tendou would want to trip one of them, especially in the rain. It could cause an injury, or, at the very least, cause some sort of discomfort. Ushijima can’t imagine doing anything like that to his teammates, to his _friends_. 

“Wakatoshi-kun, did you eat some bad food?” Tendou’s voice breaks him from his thoughts. He’s leaning on the table still, head propped up in his hands, cheeks squished, “Your face is all twisted and weird.”

“No,” Ushijima shakes his head, looking down at his barely touched food, “I was just thinking.”

“Ohhh~?” Tendou’s head rolls over on his shoulder; only one of his cheeks is squished now, “That so? Whatcha’ thinkin’ about?”

“Leave him alone,” Semi grumbles.

“I’m confused,” Ushijima admits, “I’m not certain why you’d want to harm your friends.”

“Eh?” Tendou’s head lifts up, his eyes go wide, “Harm? When did I say that? Wakatoshi-kun, don’t put words in my mouth -- ” he teases, and Ushijima notes that Semi shushes him before he can finish whatever thought was in his head.

“You said you wanted to trip someone in the rain, so they would fall in a puddle.”

“Oh!” Tendou’s shocked expression shifts back to his usual sly smile, “But that’s not harmful, that’s _fun_! I’d want someone to do it to me too,” he wiggles his eyebrows, “Will you trip me in the rain, Wakatoshi-kun?”

“No,” Ushijima answers easily, “That seems like a foolish idea. Dangerous, as well.”

Tendou almost seems to deflate. He shrinks back into his seat, shrugging. 

Conversation slips into discussion over an upcoming tournament. There’s talk of Goshiki’s motion sickness, and Kawanishi teases him that he better not throw up in the back of the bus again. They all share a good-natured laugh about that. Tendou laughs too, but it seems a bit forced, not like his usual body-shaking laughs. Ushijima watches him for a moment, observes the way he’s picking at his fingernails.

For the remainder of lunch, he doesn’t really say anything, and it’s strange.

An anomaly, one might say.

**\-----**

The umbrella had slipped his mind, again.

As he had just three days ago, Ushijima stares outside the gym door, out into another barrage of rain. This one is less aggressive, but it’s still constant. It doesn’t look like it’ll die down anytime soon, and it’s still _inconvenient_.

And just as they had before, his teammates begin filing out into the storm. Shirabu with his large umbrella, Kawanishi with his damp jacket, Semi with his busted umbrella, Goshiki huddling underneath with the setter, Yamagata with his gym bag…

And Tendou, flying out the door with his head up towards the sky, arms outstretched as if he’s preparing for a warm embrace.

“Still no umbrella?” Reon asks from beside Ushijima, laughing softly.

“No,” Ushijima lowers his head, furrowing his brows, “I forgot, I apologize.”

“No problem, we’re going to the same place anyway,” Reon grins, raising his umbrella to cover both him and Ushijima.

They follow behind Tendou, though the middle blocker quickly dashes off, limbs flying around like he’s some sort of marionette. Ushijima watches him, cringes at the water splashing up onto his pants. His socks must be soaked, he thinks.

A clap of thunder sounds from overhead, bringing Ushijima to instinctively glance upwards. When he looks back down and in front of him, he finds that the downpour has already completely shielded Tendou from his vision.

**\-----**

Oddly enough, for the next week, Ushijima’s mind continues circling back to his confusion regarding Tendou’s response to rain.

It’s not important, Ushijima _knows_ it’s not. He’s known Tendou for long enough now that he really shouldn’t be surprised by his excitement towards a weather pattern. Maybe he’s not _surprised_, maybe just perplexed. 

Either way, his mind is occupied by it. Especially as the rain patters against his dorm window, a sort of white noise as he attempts to finish up some math homework he’s gotten a bit behind on.

It’s also a reminder of the sight of one of his closest friends: head flung back, arms outstretched, hair a soaking mess and sticking to his forehead in clumps, body shaking with the force of unrestrained laughter and cheering. Typical Tendou Satori.

It seems he was left unbothered by Ushijima’s blunt response to his idea of fun at lunch the other day, because he’s continued to joke and hang out with Ushijima as if nothing is wrong. Still, Ushijima can’t get the sight of Tendou shrinking back into his seat out of his mind. He probably should have apologized, but why should be have to do that when he was simply answering a question? Voicing his opinion? 

It certainly felt odd to see Tendou’s body language become so reserved, and it definitely stings a bit to know that the words _he_ used caused him to act like that.

Ushijima shakes his head, urging himself to focus on the 8th question out of 15 in his workbook. 

If rain brings Tendou joy, then he’s happy for him. It’s not something he’ll ever come to personally understand, and he’s certain that he’ll never share the same enthusiasm for water falling from the sky. Rainwater serves a few good purposes, namely helping plants grow and offering moisture to dry land. But Ushijima doesn’t need to be watered. Maybe Tendou does, though that wouldn’t necessarily make sense to Ushijima. 

Unsurprising, because not much about Tendou makes sense to Ushijima in the first place. He supposes it doesn’t have to; he appreciates his friendship regardless, but he does wonder sometimes what it must be like to occupy the same headspace as him.

A particularly loud rumble of thunder vibrates against the window. Ushijima clears his thoughts again, setting his attention back on his homework.

**\-----**

At the beginning of the following week, Ushijima finds a brand new umbrella resting in the center of his desk. He doesn’t need to ponder who’s gifted this item to him, he already knows that it must be Reon’s offer. He would personally thank him, but his roommate has already left early for classes, probably for a tutoring session with a younger teammate of theirs.

Ushijima doesn’t know what the weather holds for today. The forecast is giving low percentages of rain actually occurring, but he slips the umbrella into his bag anyway. Better to be safe rather than sorry. 

There are light showers twice during the school day, one just after Ushijima has taken his seat in class, and one at the end of lunch. When Tendou hears the sound of rain pattering against the roof -- or maybe he simply _senses_ it, Ushijima wouldn’t be surprised -- he shovels the rest of his food into his mouth and dashes out the door, offering a muffled ‘seeya!’.

It occurs to Ushijima that he’s not used to seeing Tendou run this fast. While the team does their laps during practice, he’s always one of the last to finish. And yet, the presence of rain makes him run faster than most of their teammates ever have or ever could. It’s possible that this pace would rival even Ushijima himself. How frustrating that he won’t use this ability of his when and where it matters. 

“It’s like he’s never seen rain in his entire life,” Kawanishi snorts.

“He has,” Semi gives an exasperated sigh, “he’ll sit up at night and watch it. Sometimes he falls asleep sitting up.”

“Maybe he finds it comforting,” Reon offers, voice suggesting that he does, in fact, know this to be factual information about Tendou, “let him enjoy it.”

Ushijima can accept this, sure. But he’s still a bit peeved, enough so that he’s having trouble hiding it.

“He never runs that fast during practice,” he says, and his teammates all direct their attention towards him, “If he is able to, then why not utilize that energy when it matters? I don’t understand.”

The table is silent. Ushijima slightly worries that he’s somehow said something wrong. Or maybe his friends are all thinking something similar to what he had thought the other day: this doesn’t even matter, and it’s silly that he’s so preoccupied by it. This is _Tendou_, this is just how he is.

“Hard to do anything that requires physical energy if you’re too busy yapping the entire time,” Shirabu mumbles, clearly unphased and unsurprised by this entire thing.

Yes, that is true. Tendou spends the majority of practice talking, whether that be to himself or everyone around him. Ushijima is positive that he could probably perform much better during practice if he didn’t put so much energy into his teasing and singing. But he doesn’t think that’s the answer to his original question, that would be too simple, and Tendou Satori isn’t simple.

If the amount of energy Tendou puts into speaking were any kind of variable, that would suggest that he doesn’t speak at all while running in the rain. Ushijima knows this isn’t true; he’s watched him, multiple times, loudly dashing through the storm while yelling various words and making several kinds of sounds. That can’t have anything to do with it.

So, if Tendou is able to expend so much physical energy during a rainstorm, how is it possible that he isn’t able to do so during practice? 

“Hey,” Reon gently pats his shoulder, “you feeling okay?”

Ushijima glances around the table, relieved to find that everyone else has returned to their own little conversations. He looks at Reon, stares into concerned eyes and swallows.

“I’m fine, though I think the weather might be getting to me.”

**\-----**

Next time it rains after practice, Ushijima is prepared. He holds his new umbrella in his hand, almost proudly. His teammates leave the gym as they usually do, except this time Reon doesn’t need to offer up half of his own umbrella. He gives Ushijima a thumbs-up, gesturing towards the object that he himself had purchased, and Ushijima gives a thankful nod.

As his friends head off towards their dorms, Ushijima takes his time locking up the gym. The moisture already finding its way into his shoes is certainly as annoying as usual, but he has to admit that the muffled sound of the rain hitting against the umbrella’s surface is somehow comforting. It’s soft, constant, almost like white noise, calming in a way --

“Boo!”

Ushijima jumps, nearly dropping his umbrella on the sidewalk. He fixes his grip on its handle and then looks to the source of the noise. Tendou is bent over, staring underneath Ushijima’s umbrella with wide eyes. His bangs hang against his forehead, sticking to his eyebrows.

“Tendou,” Ushijima greets him, subconsciously gripping his umbrella tighter when he notices just how _soaked_ his friend already is, “you startled me.”

He titters, “I can see that,” Tendou straightens up, blinking rapidly as his eyelashes attempt to rid themselves of his bangs, “wanna walk together?”

“That’s fine,” Ushijima nods. Now that he has proper shelter from the storm, he doesn’t mind taking his time.

Strange, but not surprising, that Tendou doesn’t seem rushed at all despite having no protection. The rain patters against his head and shoulders, cascading down his face and clothing. He’s completely unfazed. Almost in his element, in a way.

“You’re drenched,” Ushijima observes, though he knows he doesn’t need to tell Tendou that. 

Tendou throws his head back and laughs. When he looks at Ushijima again he shakes his head; another attempt to get his hair out of his eyes, “Feels good!”

Water flicks against Ushijima’s neck as his friend continues shaking his head. He’s vaguely reminded of a wet dog shaking after coming in from the rain.

“You don’t mind? Being wet, I mean.”

“Huh?” Tendou grins, bending slightly in order to make full eye contact with Ushijima, “Well, no, why would I? We get showers, don’t we? Go swimming? You get soaked with sweat every day at practice and _you_ don’t mind.”

He might have a point. Ushijima narrows his eyes.

“We shower naked. Swimming requires specific articles of clothing meant for the activity. And physical exertion is necessary in order to live a healthy lifestyle. Sweat is not an option, it is inevitable.”

Tendou listens intently, but with every point Ushijima makes, his eyes get more narrow and his eyebrows raise so high they’re hidden far behind clumped bangs.

Ushijima continues, wanting to make his point clear, “Walking or running in the rain seems pointlessly messy. Your clothes will get wet. There are options for shielding yourself from it.”

“You’re overthinking it, Wakatoshi-kun~” Tendou sing-songs, then does a spin on the ball of his foot. 

The spin results in another spray of water landing against Ushijima’s chest, leaving wet spots on his jacket. 

“It’s also likely that you could get sick,” he squeezes in, but Tendou just laughs again.

“You worry too much! Dontcha wanna let loose? Live a little?” he gestures towards Ushijima’s umbrella, “Here, I’ll hold it so you can do a little spin, I promise it’s fun.”

“That’s alright,” Ushijima tightens his grip on the umbrella’s handle.

“Yeah, I thought you’d say that,” he laughs again, skipping and landing in a particularly large puddle. Ushijima is thankful that the resulting splash seems to favor Tendou’s already soaked pants, “worth a shot, though.”

They continue walking, nearing the dorms at this point. Tendou skips, as usual, humming some random tune that Ushijima can’t recognize, and he’s so wet that Ushijima can practically hear every move he makes. Ushijima maintains his steady pace, umbrella held firmly above his head. His shoes are wet, as are the bottoms of his pants legs, but otherwise he is dry. 

When they enter the dorm building, Ushijima carefully folds his umbrella up, shaking off the excess moisture against the rug in the doorway. Tendou shakes again, coating the windows and glass doors with splashes of rainwater.

“You need a towel,” Ushijima suggests, though he doesn’t have one to give Tendou.

“Nahhh,” Tendou waves the offer off, dragging a hand through his hair, “just gonna go get a shower anyway.”

Ushijima decides not to let his thoughts dive into how pointless it must have been to get a shower after practice, frolic in the rain, and then come back to the dorms only to get yet _another_ shower. He shakes it off; this _is_ Tendou, so he shouldn’t be so perplexed.

And yet, as he stands here staring at the wide grin on Tendou’s face, at the sight of his drenched clothing that sticks visually uncomfortably to him in multiple places, he still wonders, still finds himself annoyingly curious.

How is it that someone can enjoy something so inconvenient so much?

**\-----**

On a refreshingly sunny, clear-skied Tuesday, Tendou invites Ushijima to meet him for lunch on one of the grassy hills overlooking the school’s horse stables. Given the pleasant weather, Ushijima quickly agrees, though he probably would have, regardless.

Unless it had been raining, of course. As close as he and Tendou have gotten over their third year, he’s still not exactly willing to sit or stand in the rain any longer than absolutely necessary.

When he arrives, Tendou has already made himself comfortable. He’s laying on his back, head pointed downwards along with the slope of the hill. He waves enthusiastically towards Ushijima when he spots him, rolling upwards and sitting up straight.

“Wakatoshi-kun! You made it!”

“Yes,” Ushijima confirms, though his presence is enough to do that for him. He notices Tendou’s untouched tray of food, already home to a couple of ants, “You did not need to wait for me, I apologize.”

“Hm?” Tendou’s eyes dart towards his food, then he smiles, “Oh! It’s fine,” he pats the grass next to him, “C’mon, make yourself comfortable! Don’t tell me you don’t like to sit in the _grass_,” he teases, probably a dig at Ushijima’s recent aversion to the rain.

Though he won’t admit it, Ushijima _is_ a bit hesitant to sit in the still slightly damp grass. It had rained again last night, leaving the grass dewy and prone to probably staining his uniform. He shoves away his discomfort, taking a seat next to his best friend, setting his tray of food in his lap in an effort to keep any critters from joining him for lunch.

“What’d ya’ get?” Tendou lays down in the grass again, rolling over to peek at Ushijima’s lunch, “Hayashi rice _again_?”

“Yes,” Ushijima digs in, taking a large bite, “it’s my favorite.”

“Never woulda guessed,” Tendou drawls, voice rising with amusement, “I got an egg sandwich,” he grabs the object in question, gently brushing off an ant from its surface, “have you had it before?”

A silly question, given its popularity, “I have. Not at this school, though.”

“Me neither,” Tendou takes a bite, speaking through a full mouth, “you should try different stuff, Wakatoshi-kun. Can’t live off hayashi rice for your whole life.”

Why not? Is the question Ushijima wants to ask, but maybe that’s silly. Of course he has to have variety in his diet, but he does enjoy the consistency and familiarity of his favorite food.

“It’s a well-rounded meal.”

“Yeah, but you should live a little,” Tendou swallows, blindy grabs his juice box without taking his wide eyes off of Ushijima’s face. When he locates it he aggressively sticks its straw in and takes a large sip.

“I am living. Isn’t that what we do everyday?”

The juice box is already empty. Tendou tosses it onto his tray, “No no, like… do new stuff, have fun, loosen up. Y’know?”

Ushijima isn’t surprised that Tendou is suggesting he have more fun. It’s a common bit of advice that he seems to share with everyone. Sometimes he says it more as a tease, usually directed at Semi or Shirabu, but when he says it to Ushijima it always seems genuine, almost concerned in a way.

“I am having fun,” Ushijima says, and he means it.

Tendou laughs, rolling onto his back in the grass. He takes another large bite of his sandwich, leaving only a third behind. Again his voice is muffled as he chews, “Geez, don’t sound so excited,” he teases.

Ushijima can sense the sarcasm. He ignores it; it’s not exactly uncommon, and he knows Tendou doesn’t mean it in a cruel way.

“Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to study together tonight?” Tendou tosses the remainder of his lunch into his mouth, staring hopefully at Ushijima.

“I suppose that would be fine,” Ushijima carefully scoops another bite into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before finishing, “however, I know you usually do less studying than you do talking.”

“Do not!” Tendou scoffs, but his expression suggests that he knows good and well that Ushijima is right, “So is that a yes?”

“It is,” Ushijima confirms, already deciding that he should get most of his homework done and out of the way before Tendou arrives.

“Sweet!” Tendou pumps a fist in the air, then lets his arm drop loosely behind his head. 

His hair is almost melting into the grass, and Ushijima vaguely wonders if he’ll have green spots leftover when he gets up. His back must be completely damp. Will he be able to get the stains out? Ushijima realizes that he may need to offer some of his stronger laundry soap. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to do Tendou’s laundry.

“Is the grass wet?” Ushijima asks, noticing that Tendou is carelessly dragging his fingers through the field.

“Hm?” Tendou glances at Ushijima, giving a wobbly smile, “Kinda. Geez, you really don’t like the rain, huh?”

“I don’t want stains on my uniform.”

“Little late for that,” Tendou gestures towards Ushijima’s backside.

He must be right. Ushijima really should have brought a towel or blanket to sit on. His discomfort must be extremely obvious, because Tendou laughs.

“What’d the rain ever do to you?” Tendou rolls over on his stomach. Just as Ushijima had thought, the crisp white of his school jacket is now tinted green, “Genuine question.”

“It’s inconvenient,” Ushijima takes another slow bite. He’s about halfway through his meal.

“How so? It’s important for plants, right? And you _love_ plants.”

“Yes,” Ushijima nods, “however, there are things about it that I do not like.”

“And those are…?” Tendou rests his head in his hands, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

What a silly conversation, Ushijima thinks. 

“It’s annoying to have to constantly wipe water off your face.”

“Not really,” Tendou shrugs, “It’s kinda nice, refreshing even. Little droplets of water rolling down your face,” he mimics the action with his fingers, dragging down one lower eyelid, “feels good.”

Well, the way he describes it, maybe so. Ushijima particularly dislikes when it gets in his eyes, and with the size of his best friend’s he wonders just how that wouldn’t somehow bother him. Even while they were walking together in the rain the other today, Ushijima noticed that he had to continually blink to keep water out of his eyes. That _must_ be uncomfortable.

Regardless, he knows he’s lost this point. He’ll have to move on to his next one.

“You could slip and fall into a puddle,” he takes another bite.

“That’s fun! Happens to me all the time!” Tendou laughs, body shaking with the force of it, “It’s kinda freeing to let yourself get messy.”

A rebuttal, even if it makes no sense at all to Ushijima.

“You can’t feel the warmth of the sun on your skin while it’s raining. It’s cold.”

Tendou shakes his head, “Not always. Sometimes it’s sunny while it rains. _Rainbows_, Wakatoshi-kun, ever heard of ‘em?”

Of course he has, what a strange question. But again, Tendou has a point, and this one makes sense. Ushijima feels like he’s pulling at straws at this point, he knows he’ll never convince Tendou that rainstorms are inconvenient. 

“You can’t jog in the rain,” Ushijima makes his final point, taking a decisive bite and effectively finishing off his plate.

“Why not?” Tendou offers a simple question in response, eyeing Ushijima expectantly.

Well… Ushijima has to think on that one. Perhaps you _can_ jog in the rain, though it seems like it’d be difficult, and he’s never attempted it. Not since he was a child, anyway, but even that was uncommon given how strict his mother was. That could lead to getting sick, after all. But even with that possibility, Tendou has a point, again. 

“I don’t even _like_ to jog unless it’s raining,” Tendou laughs.

“You run much faster in the rain than you do during practice,” Ushijima gives him a judging look.

“And? It’s because it’s _fun_! I’m living proof, so why do you think you can’t jog in the rain?”

Ushijima’s brain searches for an answer, and he still comes up blank.

“I don’t know,” he answers honestly, looking at Tendou with furrowed brows.

“Ha!” Tendou rolls over onto his back again, shoves his body up into a seated position, “See? Nice try, Wakatoshi-kun, but you can’t prove that rain sucks. I’ll convince you someday, don’t worry.”

An odd thing to be so determined about, Ushijima thinks. 

The pair gather their empty trays and head back into the building. Tendou is making up some little song about rain, singing loudly through the hallways and garnering the attention of everyone he passes by. 

Ushijima can only wonder what it must be like to live so freely.

**\-----**

After practice that evening, Tendou follows Ushijima out of the gym, loudly hopeful for the potential for a storm. Ushijima notes, with some trepidation, that the sky is quite gloomy now, and that if it _does_ rain, there will be less likelihood of Tendou actually participating in studying tonight.

Despite it _not_ currently raining, Tendou is exhibiting his typical amount of energy, skipping alongside Ushijima, causing his arm to bump up against his sometimes. It’s much easier for Ushijima to appreciate these mannerisms when he isn’t trying to huddle underneath an umbrella and shield himself from his best friend’s actions, which have effectively coated him in rain a number of times now. 

They walk in near silence, save for the sound of Tendou’s humming and the gentle thump of his gym bag bumping into his leg with every skip. The sky is already starting to get dark, casting an orange glow across the school’s many buildings despite the number of clouds overhead.

They reach the dorm building and head up the stairs, nearing Ushijima’s shared room with Reon. He’s sure his roommate is probably tutoring their underclassmen again, which has become a typical routine for him both before and after school. 

Tendou enters the room as if it’s his own -- which, to be fair, it might as well be for as often as he’s here -- and plops his bag down next to Ushijima’s bed. By the time Ushijima has set his own carefully on his desk, removed his homework, and turned around, Tendou is already sprawled out on his bed, holding a pencil between his upper lip and nose, staring cross-eyed at it.

“What homework did you need to get done?” Ushijima asks, standing awkwardly next to the bed, watching just how focused his best friend is on this strange task.

“Hm?” Tendou hums, and the pencil slips down, landing next to his cheek, “Oh!” he throttles upwards, draping himself over the edge of the bed and digging through his unorganized bag, “I brought math, surprise surprise~”

“I also have math to get done,” Ushijima holds up his own workbook, “Only a few questions.”

“Same!” Tendou exclaims, wiggling back on to the bed and settling with his back against the wall, “Shouldn’t take long, then, huh?”

That depends on how much time you’ll spend talking and derailing, Ushijima thinks, but he doesn’t say it. The last thing he wants to do is shut Tendou down like he had at lunch the other day. He still doesn’t like to think about that.

“Right,” Ushijima nods, joining Tendou on the bed in a cross-legged position, “let me know if you need help.”

“Aye-aye, captain,” Tendou grins, gives a small salute, and then shuffles through the pages of his notebook.

For the next thirty minutes, Tendou remains mostly quiet. Not quiet enough for Ushijima to be concerned -- he’s still humming and wiggling around just as much as usual -- but just quiet enough for him to stay focused and work through his homework fairly fast. He manages to finish before Tendou does, which is no surprise to either of them. Tendou takes advantage of this and enlists Ushijima’s help for the last few questions of his own work. 

About halfway through finishing his final problem, Tendou glances upwards, eyes trained on the window as if he’s just heard something. Ushijima follows his gaze, brows furrowed in confusion until he also looks outside. 

He should have known. 

A light shower has started. Rain gently patters against the window, gradually making the glass surface appear to warp slightly. Tendou has abandoned his nearly completed homework, shuffling to the top corner of the bed in order to look outside. Ushijima can’t see his face from this angle, but he imagines Tendou is looking outside in about the same way he himself might if he woke up to a perfectly clear and sunny day. 

Part of Ushijima wants to gently remind Tendou that he still hasn’t finished his work, and that if he takes five more minutes to work on it, he’ll have it out of the way and will be able to look outside as much as he wants to. But there’s something about his current position, leaning forward on the bed and staring outside, hand pressed against the window. Ushijima’s surprised he hasn’t jumped up and run outside yet.

“I didn’t know it was going to rain,” Ushijima observes, adjusting to sit next to Tendou and look outside too. 

“Me either,” Tendou replies, not taking his eyes off the window, “it’s nice, huh?”

Well, Ushijima has to admit the rain is less annoying when it’s outside and he’s _inside_. Perhaps Tendou is right this time, at least as far as Ushijima is concerned.

“It’s relaxing,” he confirms, chancing a glance at Tendou, who looks mesmerized, as if he’s never seen rain in his entire life. 

“Oh, I was kinda joking,” Tendou laughs, softly, then turns to look at Ushijima, “I thought you hated it?”

Caught off guard by the sudden close-quarters eye contact, Ushijima’s eyes flick away from Tendou’s for a moment. His stare is so _intense_, especially with not much space between them.

“I don’t, not if I’m inside and sheltered from it,” Ushijima answers, only looking at Tendou’s face again when his best friend has decided to continue staring out the window.

“I like being out in it,” Tendou explains, not that Ushijima wasn’t aware of that, “but it’s nice to be inside too. It’s calming.”

Calming? Ushijima agrees, but he never would have expected Tendou to appreciate the _less_ chaotic traits of a rainstorm. Interesting.

“I thought you liked to run in it,” Ushijima inquires, “and make a mess.”

“Well, _yeah_,” Tendou snorts, “but I dunno, when it’s nighttime, or you’re just sittin’ around, rain is like… hmm,” he pauses, chewing his lower lip in thought, “it’s like a friend that’s sitting there with you, keeping you company.”

“A friend?”

“Yeah!” Tendou turns to look at Ushijima again, “Well, not like… a _best_ friend. So don’t worry, no competition there, Wakatoshi-kun,” he grins.

Ushijima hadn’t exactly been concerned about losing his title to a weather pattern, but he appreciates the reassurance nonetheless. 

It occurs to Ushijima that, despite being questioned multiple times by his best friend as far as his aversion to rain, he has never posed the opposite question. Why does he enjoy the rain so much? Yes, it is relaxing, Ushijima can agree with that, but he’s not sure he’s ever seen someone watching the rain with so much genuine joy in his entire life.

“Why do you like it?” Ushijima asks, pulling Tendou’s attention away from the window for a moment again.

“Hm?” Tendou blinks his wide eyes, then realization hits him, “Oh! The rain, you mean?”

“Yes,” Ushijima studies him, genuine curiosity filling every crevice of his mind.

“Well, it’s like I told you,” he leans forward, resting his folded arms on the windowsill, his head on his forearm, “it’s fun to run and splash around in, rain feels good on your skin, always a blast to dance in it too!”

Sure, Ushijima has heard these answers before, but he feels like that can’t be the entire story. Not when his best friend is watching the rain in the same way that Ushijima watches a perfectly hit spike slam into the opposing half of the court. There’s something more there, something intense and passionate.

“That isn’t all,” Ushijima suggests, saying it more as a factual statement.

Tendou rolls his head enough to look at Ushijima, raising an eyebrow, “Whaddya mean?”

“There must be more,” Ushijima rests his hands on his thighs, keeps his legs crossed, “you mentioned it being like a friend. I would like to hear more about that.”

“Ah,” Tendou looks out the window again, narrowing his eyes in what Ushijima can only assume is deep thought, “well, I dunno. Just makes sense,” judging by the way he’s chewing his lower lip again, Ushijima can tell he wants to say more.

“How does one befriend the rain?” Ushijima asks, and means it almost entirely genuinely.

Tendou gives a snort of laughter, “Wakatoshi-kun,” he looks over at Ushijima with amusement, then raises his eyebrows, “oh, you’re serious?”

“Yes,” Ushijima nods, “I’m trying to understand your fascination with it.”

“Hm,” Tendou looks outside again, “well, I dunno. You don’t really have to. It just comes and you… _be_ with it. It doesn’t ask you to explain yourself, doesn’t judge you for anything, it’s just _there_.”

As hard as he’s trying to follow, Ushijima is feeling more and more confused. His expression must give it away, because Tendou sits upwards again and waves his hand around as if to try and grasp some sort of easy answer.

“The rain feels, I dunno… _safe_, in a way.”

_Safe?_ That is perhaps the last word Ushijima would have expected Tendou to use for _rain_. Especially since it’s typical for people to want shelter _from_ the rain. 

“Not really in a physical sense,” Tendou continues, eyes shining, “but -- well, no, maybe kind of. But! What I mean is that, like… there’s something cozy and homey about the rain. Some of the times I feel most safe are when I’m sitting next to a window and it’s raining. That and --” he stops, and the glint in his eyes seems to fade away some, “well, it doesn’t matter. Rain is safe, at least for me.”

“I see,” Ushijima nods, trying to make sense of all of this in his head. 

“Alright, so, why do you like the sunshine?” Tendou inquires, “Or clear days in general?”

“It’s warm,” Ushijima answers easily, “and… I suppose it also feels safe, in a way. Mostly because it means there’s usually no threat of storms.”

“Yeah!” Tendou enthusiastically nods, “Exactly! It’s like a friend, right? Makes you feel safe, keeps the bad things away!”

Ushijima blinks, watching Tendou’s face light up with hope that he’s _finally_ gotten through to him. And yes, somehow, it makes sense. 

“I suppose you’re right,” Ushijima smiles, just a little, and looks outside at the intensifying rain, “so the rain is a friend to you.”

“Yep,” Tendou moves back to the window, placing his folded arms on the windowsill again, “always has been.”

Ushijima says nothing, correctly assuming that Tendou has more to share on that thought.

“I remember growing up, when I got home from school, I would cry a lot. There were a few kids from class in my neighborhood, and they liked to follow me. They’d laugh and laugh and then throw things at me, call me names, y’know, the whole shebang,” he says it in a nonchalant voice, but Ushijima knows these aren’t exactly happy memories for him, so he shifts closer until their knees are bumping together, “but! It was nice when it would rain after school. They’d run home real fast, I guess they were too _scared_ of the rain or something,” he chuckles, turns to look at Ushijima with an amused smile, “imagine that~” 

“I’m not afraid of the rain,” Ushijima counters.

“Wakatoshi-kun, what have I told you?” Tendou drawls, “People are afraid of things they don’t understand, and _you_,” he reaches out, pokes Ushijima on the nose for emphasis, “don’t understand why someone like _me_ can like the rain.”

Ushijima says nothing. He’s not sure how accurate that statement is, but he supposes Tendou has a bit of a point, and he knows better than to argue with him about things like this. He always wins. Who knows if it’s by sheer determination or an otherworldly ability to actually read minds.

“Anyway, yeah, so rain always felt like a friend while I was growing up,” Tendou shrugs, “chased the mean kids off, kept me safe, then kept me company while I needed it at home.”

Suddenly Ushijima’s feeling a bit guilty for his confusion regarding this entire thing. How rude of him to ever think it was okay to question someone’s love for something, even if that something is a common form of weather.

“Thank you for explaining,” Ushijima mumbles after a few moments of silence, “I think I can understand now.”

“Yeah?” 

“Yes. After all, a friend of yours is a friend of mine,” he smiles.

Tendou turns his body around to face Ushijima again, grabbing on to his knees for balance when he almost topples backwards, “Cool! So you’ll run in the rain with me now?”

Ushijima isn’t sure if it’s the actual question being asked or if it’s the sly smile on Tendou’s face, but something catches him off guard. Possibly a mixture of both. It makes it hard for him to be honest, even harder for him to tear his eyes away from him.

“I… don’t think so.”

“I thought you’d say that,” Tendou laughs, throwing his head back, then straightens up again and pats Ushijima’s knees, “no worries, I’m still gonna convert you, though. Before the end of the school year, mark my words, Ushijima Wakatoshi,” he brings a finger up again, poking Ushijima’s nose with each word, “you will be defeated~”

**\-----**

After their conversation the other night, Ushijima had hoped that he’d finally be able to rid his mind of the invasive and pointless questions relating to Tendou and his appreciation for the rain. He understands now, at least a little more, so why does he need to keep pondering it?

Well, it’s less of that initial confusion over ‘why’. Now it’s his own fears that he isn’t measuring up to be as good of a friend to Tendou as the rain has been.

And how _ridiculous_ that must sound, how pointless is it for him to be comparing himself to a form of _weather_? Ushijima knows he’s always been a good friend to Tendou, his best friend has told him this _many_ times before, and yet…

Do I make him feel safe too? Ushijima keeps wondering. Does he feel safe with me?

Perhaps it’s an odd question. Ushijima’s never threatened him in any way. Sure, he’s upset him before, made him sad a handful of times, but he can’t remember even one time where he’s put his best friend at risk in _any_ way. But he thinks it’s less of the physical safety that he’s worried about. 

The real question is whether or not Tendou feels safe enough with him to… well, just _be_.

It’s been less than a week since their conversation, and it’s beginning to give him a headache. So, when Tendou invites him to lunch on the hill again, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes. He carries his plate of hayashi rice out to the hill next to the horse stables, finding Tendou, once again, laying on his back, this time with the most recent issue of Shounen Jump held high above his head.

“Wakatoshi-kun!” he greets him, tossing the book aside and patting the grass, “please tell me you got something different this time!”

Ushijima glances down at his all-too-familiar plate, offering Tendou a sympathetic glance. His best friend just laughs.

“I got yakisoba,” Tendou swings up into a seated position and grabs his plate, “have you tried it here?”

“I haven’t,” Ushijima answers, and Tendou laughs again. He probably knew the answer before Ushijima even said it.

“How about this,” Tendou grabs a bunch of noodles with his chopsticks and loudly slurps them into his mouth, “next time, _I’ll_ get hayashi rice, and _you_ get something different.”

Considering how much of a habit it is for Ushijima for grab this same dish every single day, he can’t make any concrete promises, but maybe it would be good to try something different for a change. If only just to satisfy his best friend.

“That would be fine,” he agrees, taking a bite.

“Awesome!”

Quiet settles over the pair as they eat. Well, somewhat. Tendou isn’t exactly quiet about eating, especially when it’s noodles. But despite the loud slurping sounds, Ushijima’s mind continues circling around that question that’s been plaguing him for the last few days. How is he even supposed to bring it up? How does he word it in a way that will make sense? What if Tendou laughs, thinks the question is a joke? 

“Wakatoshi-kun,” Tendou mutters, voice a bit accusatory, “did you fart?”

“No?” Ushijima turns to look at him, nearly dropping his plate, “I did not.”

“Your face said otherwise,” Tendou smirks, chewing on one of his chopsticks and laughing, “your eyes got all scrunched up, kinda looked like you smelled something gross.”

“I didn’t,” Ushijima takes another bite, fully aware of Tendou’s stare still fixed solely on his face, “I was just thinking.”

“What about?” Tendou rests his head in one hand, but it’s close enough to Ushijima’s knee that he could just rest it there instead, “Share with the class~”

Ushijima opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. He’s still not sure how to ask this question. Sometimes he wishes Tendou really _could_ read people’s minds, especially his own.

“If you don’t share then I’m just gonna assume you’re makin’ excuses and you actually _did_ fart,” Tendou chuckles, teeth clicking against his chopsticks.

“I didn’t,” Ushijima reiterates, though he can admit to himself that the stress of knowing how to address this question could have, in fact, caused him to, “I want to ask you something.”

Tendou watches him closely, “And that is…?”

“It’s hard,” Ushijima struggles.

His best friend looks less amused now and much more curious. His eyebrows are raised comically high and his chopsticks are slowly slipping out of his mouth, “What’s hard?”

“Do you remember when we were talking about the rain the other night?” Ushijima starts, and Tendou nods, “You mentioned that the rain is like a friend to you, and that it makes you feel safe.”

“Yeah?” Tendou blinks, gaze still fixed on Ushijima’s face, “What about it?”

“I just wondered,” Ushijima pauses, poking at his meal with his spoon, “or, worried, maybe… that I don’t do the same thing for you.”

“Huh?” Tendou lifts his head up, “Wait, did you _really_ think -- ?”

Ushijima watches him as he rolls back up into a seated position, as his mouth goes from a tight, suppressing line, to suddenly openly and letting go a barrage of laughter. Tendou nearly topples backwards, but catches himself on Ushijima’s knee again, clutching his chest with his other hand. It takes several moments for him to calm down and look directly at Ushijima again.

“Didn’t I tell you there was no competition there, Wakatoshi-kun?” he lets out another small laugh.

“Yes, but -- ”

“Listen,” Tendou puts a hand on top of Ushijima’s head, turning it enough to look directly at him, “you’re my best friend, Wakatoshi. If I didn’t feel safe with you, I wouldn’t be eating lunch with you right now. I wouldn’t even hang out with you after school.”

“But… those are physical things,” Ushijima starts, and Tendou is already raising an eyebrow, “I want you to feel… emotionally safe. With me.”

Tendou blinks several times, and… that might be a blush on his cheeks, but he’s suddenly moving around a little too much to tell. His voice isn’t even as loudly confident. It’s like he’s deflated again, but this time… it doesn’t seem like a bad thing.

“I do,” Tendou says, giving Ushijima’s knee another squeeze, “trust me, Wakatoshi-kun. I feel really safe with you, in like… every way possible, ‘kay? Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay,” Ushijima replies, but barely hears himself say it.

He’s a little too preoccupied by his best friend’s complexion, by the way the light is hitting his face and hair just right, setting him in a warm sort of blaze. By the gentle upturn of his nose and the curl of his lip when he grins, directly at him.

It reminds Ushijima of sunlight.

**\-----**

Around a month after that second lunch on the hill, Ushijima is convinced that the rainy season must be over. To save more space in his bag, he stops carrying his umbrella with him, relying on sheer hope alone that the weather won’t suddenly shift on him again. He’s sure that’s what _Tendou_ would like, of course, but he’s still not exactly excited about the prospect of having to walk in the rain again.

He feels as though he’s gotten much closer with Tendou since their conversations about the weather. Study sessions have become more common, though they typically result in Tendou staying over much too late, determined to get Ushijima to read manga with him or, at the very least, watch youtube videos about animals. Tendou knows Ushijima’s weaknesses, it seems. And strangely enough, Ushijima doesn’t mind putting things off if it means spending time with him. Maybe that’s foolish, but… he enjoys Tendou’s company, wants him to be around as much as possible.

It’s also become common for them to run to the convenience store after practice, just to grab a quick snack and enjoy walking together at night. Much as he prefers the sunlight, Ushijima doesn’t mind walking when it’s dark. There’s something calming about it, or maybe it’s just the good company. 

That’s probably at least half of it, if Ushijima is honest with himself.

It’s hard to tell if Tendou feels similarly. Of course, he’s been calling Ushijima his best friend for a while now, and Ushijima feels the same way towards him. But somehow, for Ushijima, that doesn’t feel like a good enough title for Tendou. If he starts to think about it too much, he ends up spiraling inside his head, which is something he tries to stay away from. Not being able to control and drive his thoughts in a specific way has always been a fear of his. But this is Tendou’s influence, it would seem.

Regardless, Tendou seems to enjoy his company. Why else would he invite him to do things all the time? Tendou has many friends on the team, and Ushijima’s sure they would all be willing and happy to hang out with Tendou too, so Ushijima feels quite honored that he’s given the opportunity so often.

“Whaddya gettin this time, Wakatoshi-kun?” Tendou asks, skipping next to Ushijima and eyeing him curiously, “Better not be m -- ”

“Mochi,” Ushijima finishes for him, amused by his usual scoff and head shake.

“Geez, mix it up!” Tendou teases, “Try something new!”

“What are you getting?”

“Uh,” Tendou pauses, eyes widening, “well… probably… melon bread… a-and…” he gulps, “konpeito…”

“What was that about trying something new?” Ushijima smiles, feeling proud of the reaction it elicits from Tendou.

“That’s -- that’s different! I try new stuff a lot!” he spits, but Ushijima can still sense the humor in his voice, “But _you_ eat the same thing every day!”

“I seem to recall that you always get the same flavor of ice cream,” Ushijima continues, “every single time we go and get some.”

“Wakatoshi-kun!” Tendou squawks, “When did I become the victim?! And besides!” he throws his arms up in the air, fingers splayed outwards, “You _know_ it’s too hard to choose between all those flavors!”

Ushijima just laughs, and when he does, Tendou follows suit. The sound fills the empty night air, blends in with the gentle sound of crickets hidden within the grass. It’s nice to be able to joke around like this, Ushijima thinks. And with Tendou it’s so easy, comes so naturally despite Ushijima always feeling as if he’s never been funny himself. Tendou tells him all the time that he is, and coming from someone like him, that means a lot.

They reach their destination, a convenience store with lights that cast a yellow glow on the concrete outside. The bell above the front door jingles softly as they walk inside. Tendou sing-songs a quick greeting to the man behind the register, then leads the way into the snack aisle. 

Ushijima quickly locates the mochi section, doing exactly what Tendou _doesn’t_ want him to do and grabbing the same strawberry-flavored package that he chooses every single time. When he turns his attention back to Tendou, he finds his best friend has grabbed three packages of melon bread and two bags of candy.

“That’s a lot of sugar,” Ushijima observes, with slight concern.

“Thanks, mom,” Tendou teases, nearly grabbing a third bag but eventually opting for just the two, “I space ‘em out, so it’s fine.”

“I would hope so.”

It’s good-natured banter, and Ushijima enjoys it. Truthfully, he _does_ worry about Tendou’s eating habits sometimes, but in the end he knows that his friend isn’t really unhealthy. After all, he plays a sport (even if he only plays the way he _wants_ to), jogs every day (even if it’s not always with full effort), and he eats three meals a day (even if one of those might just be sugar candy). Even so, Ushijima likes to think that his healthy lifestyle has somewhat rubbed off on Tendou, at least a little bit.

“This’ll do it!” Tendou declares, dropping his snacks on the counter and then adding Ushijima’s to the pile.

Ushijima doesn’t fight him on it anymore; if Tendou wants to buy his snacks for him, then so be it.

As Tendou is digging through his bag to find the right amount of money, it occurs to Ushijima that there’s a sound coming from outside -- no -- from above his head. He looks up, eyes fixed on the ceiling, trying to discern what exactly it could be. And then it hits him.

It’s raining.

It seems Tendou has not had the same realization, otherwise Ushijima’s sure that he’d be bounding out of the store without even bringing his precious snacks. It doesn’t take him too much longer to finish paying, and after he grabs the sack with all their goodies inside of it, he turns to look at Ushijima.

“Ready? Oh -- ” he starts, eyeing Ushijma with concern, “something wrong? Don’t tell me you have a stomach ache, we haven’t even _had_ anything yet, so -- ”

Now he realizes, Ushijima thinks, as he watches Tendou’s expression go from mildly offended to suddenly awestruck. He glances towards the doorway, then back at Ushijima, grinning.

“C’mon, Wakatoshi-kun,” he links an arm around Ushijima, “time to face our fears~”

It’s absurd that Tendou’s still declaring rain to be a ‘fear’ of his, but given Ushijima’s general reaction, maybe it’s not _too_ far off.

The cashier bids them farewell, saying something about staying safe in the rain, probably offering for them to stay inside until it passes. But Ushijima already knows… he’s knows Tendou won’t let that happen.

No, this is it, he thinks. This is the day Tendou Satori wins. This is the day the _rain_ wins.

The bell dings again as they exit the building and stand underneath the overhanging roof. Tendou is quickly tying up the bag of snacks, stuffing it into his gym bag which he promptly drops to the ground. Then he reaches for Ushijima’s --

“What are you doing?” Ushijima asks, almost demands.

“Putting your bag down, silly,” Tendou answers as if it’s the dumbest question he’s ever heard, “You’ll be fine, c’mon.”

Ushijima can’t fight him, he knows he can’t. He lets him take it, lets him plop it down next to his bag even though the ground is already starting to get wet underneath the overhang.

Tendou wastes no time; he rolls his sleeves up and dashes into the storm, quickly finding a puddle and kicking up water. He’s grinning, laughing loudly and fearlessly.

“Wakatoshi-kun!” he calls out, trying to yell over the powerful stream of rain, “C’mon, the water’s great!”

“I’m okay,” Ushijima replies, trying to be just as loud, “I’ll wait for it to pass.”

“Nooo,” Tendou shakes his head, waves a finger at Ushijima, “Nope, nah, no can do, buddy. You’re gonna come play in the rain, just this once!”

“I really don’t want to,” Ushijima stands his ground.

“Why?” Tendou does a spin, bangs smacking against his forehead.

“I can’t,” as soon as he says it he knows exactly how Tendou will respond.

His best friend leaps over, nearly tripping in another smaller puddle. He gets close, so close that Ushijima can see a single bead of water rolling down his nose. He tilts his head in front of Ushijima’s, raising one eyebrow.

“Why not?”

Ushijima gulps. Tendou is soaked and he’s standing right in front of him, threatening to get him _just_ as wet.

“I don’t want to get sick,” Ushijima finally decides, “I would have to miss practice, and -- ”

Suddenly Tendou’s hands are grabbing his. They’re wet and cold, but his long, bony fingers wrap so nicely against his, squeezing slightly.

“Wakatoshi-kun, it’s time to live a little,” he titters, “please? It’ll be fun!”

Ushijima feels Tendou tug gently on his hands, attempting to ease him out into the rain. And he must succeed a little bit, because suddenly he can feel droplets hitting the top of his head.

“Shouldn’t we wait until it passes?”

Tendou leans closer, and now he’s close enough that Ushijima can see the droplets that catch on his eyelashes.

“Wakatoshi, please. For me?”

Something about his voice strikes a chord within Ushijima’s chest. All of a sudden all the fight left in his body is gone, and Tendou is easing him further into the torrent. Now he can feel the rain hitting him from all sides, soaking his clothes almost instantly, making his choppy bangs stick to his forehead in clumps. It’s uncomfortable, especially the way the fabric of his pants feels practically glued to his skin now, and -- 

Tendou is grinning, his eyes are bright and wide and he’s radiating so much warmth and joy that Ushijima can’t help but smile too. He’s standing in the rain, already soaked through to his socks, but he’s _smiling_.

Maybe it’s not so bad after all.

“See?” Tendou trills, “Fun, right?”

Ushijima doesn’t confirm or deny. Either because he isn’t sure, or, more likely, because the way Tendou’s looking at him right now is leaving him completely speechless. His toothy grin and button nose… his wide eyes and thin, feathery eyebrows… the freckles speckled across his soft cheeks… so many details that Ushijima’s found himself thinking about lately while lying awake in bed late at night.

Tendou spins both of them around, sending a spray of water outwards that probably coats their gym bags. For some reason, Ushijima’s stopped caring. Tendou is laughing, gripping Ushijima’s hands tightly, and at some moments he’s close enough again that Ushijima can feel his breath on his face.

“Alright, so now,” Tendou starts, still speaking louder than necessary over the rain, “you can trip me, right in that big puddle, like I said. Go for it, it’s punishment for me dragging you out here.”

Ushijima considers that idea, then quickly shuts it down. He couldn’t possibly do that to his best friend, even though, yes, he’s giving him more laundry to do and potentially giving him a cold. But he can’t. He won’t. And besides, his brain is offering up something else. Something he’s been considering for days now but been too afraid to bring up.

“I don’t want to,” he says, and Tendou rolls his eyes.

“Really? C’mooooon,” he laughs, dragging a hand through his hair, “Eita would’ve _jumped_ at the chance.”

Well, Ushijima thinks, it’s unlikely that Semi is feeling the types of things that Ushijima is currently feeling towards his best friend.

“I don’t want to trip you,” Ushijima reiterates, then feels a weight on the tip of his tongue, feels his heart pounding, practically begging him to just say it, just _ask_.

Tendou can tell he wants to say something else, of _course_ he can. He always knows, reads every miniscule change in Ushijima’s face and body. He’s watching him closely, ignoring the water trickling down his freckled cheeks.

“I don’t want to trip you,” Ushijima says for the third time, “but I want to kiss you.”

Tendou rapidly blinks, leaning back a bit and studying Ushijima’s face, “You -- ?”

“I apologize,” Ushijima backtracks, already feeling guilty for jumping the gun like this, “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Ushijima Wakatoshi,” Tendou whispers, exhaling through a smirk, “do you know who you’re talking to right now?”

“Yes?” What a weird question.

“You’re talking to someone who’s thought about that _exact_ thing for _months_ now. Took ya’ long enough,” Ushijima can tell by the curl of his lip that he’s just teasing.

“Maybe this isn’t the best time,” Ushijima continues trying to backtrack, but Tendou is pulling him closer, intertwining his fingers with his.

“Please,” Tendou scoffs, “it’s the perfect time. Kissing in the rain is _super_ cliche, but it makes for a good story, right? Imagine! ‘Me and Wakatoshi-kun had our first kiss in the _rain_, so beat that!’”

Well, Ushijima certainly didn’t mean to turn it into any kind of competition.

Tendou watches him closely for several seconds, rain continues pouring down his face.

“So are you gonna do it or what?” he mumbles, and somehow Ushijima can still clearly hear him. 

It’s almost like the rain is being drowned out by _this_, just being in this moment with Tendou. 

“I’m nervous,” Ushijima answers, avoiding eye contact, “I don’t know how it works.”

“Wakatoshi,” Tendou cooes, gently taking Ushijima’s chin in one hand, turning it enough for them to make eye contact again, “don’t be nervous. Then you’ll make _me_ nervous. And then I’ll be shaking and it’ll be a bad kiss and we’ll be embarrassed and weird about it.”

Tendou? Nervous? Hard for Ushijima to believe, considering how forward he’s being. But now that he thinks about it, it does seem like his best friend’s hands are shaking. Yes, despite his body language portraying that he’s completely confident in this entire thing, he’s _shaking_. It’s reassuring in a way.

“I don’t know -- ”

Tendou’s lips are on his before he can finish. They’re chapped and dry but they’re everything and more than Ushijima ever could have expected. Tendou pulls away for a second, but then Ushijima’s diving back in; he feels hooked. The way Tendou’s hand slinks up from Ushijima’s chin to glide through his hair sends a shiver down his spine, one that he _knows_ isn’t from the chill of the rain. And his other hand squeezes Ushijima’s, almost like confirmation that this is going well. One of Ushijima’s hands finds the nape of Tendou’s neck, and the other rests tentatively on his waist.

“So?” Tendou whispers when he pulls away again, licking his lips, “How’re ya’ feelin’?”

Ushijima can’t find the right word. He feels warm but his body is shivering. His brain feels foggy and his body feels weightless. 

“Warm,” he finally answers, “I feel warm.”

Tendou grins, squeezes Ushijima’s hand again and leans forward to quickly kiss the tip of his nose. Then he’s hugging him, pressing his soaked clothes against his. Ushijima closes his eyes, lets himself indulge in this moment that he never would have _ever_ expected to enjoy, much less experience.

After a few more kisses and celebratory spins, the rain is starting to die down. The pair retreat under the overhang again, attempting to ring out the water in their clothes. Ushijima realizes with slight disappointment that his shirt will probably be very stretched out after this. One look at Tendou wildly trying to fluff up his hair again makes him forget about that disappointment. It’s always strange to see his usual controlled chaos back to its natural bowl cut. Even more charming, in a strange way, is just how big and heavy his clothes look on him now.

The clothes can be replaced, but this… this is a moment that he couldn’t possibly put a price on.

By the time they’re headed back to the school, this time hand-in-hand, the rain has all but stopped. Ushijima can still feel water rolling down his neck every so often, but in a way it’s sort of refreshing.

“See, I _told_ you,” Tendou swings their arms, “I totally converted you! You _love_ the rain now!”

Ushijima gives him a look, one that suggests that that might not be entirely true.

“I don’t love the rain,” he counters, “I still prefer the sunshine.”

“Laaame,” Tendou drawls, then laughs, “well, at least I got you to enjoy it for a second.”

Ushijima nods in silent agreement. Maybe it wasn’t the rain that he enjoyed the most, he thinks it was the feeling of security that washed over him as soon as Tendou had grabbed his hands and eased him out into the storm.

After a few quiet moments, Tendou clears his throat, bumping shoulders with Ushijima, “So, you remember that question you asked me on the hill? About like… feeling safe?”

“Yes,” Ushijima looks at him, wondering where this is going.

“Well, ever since you asked that, I’ve been thinking about it a lot, y’know?” Tendou waves a hand in the air, “Cause, yeah, you make me feel safe all the time, Wakatoshi. But then I thought more about it.”

Ushijima’s stomach drops for a moment. Is he about to be told that he _isn’t_ doing a good job of that anymore? His mind races, trying to think of a time when he might have messed up. Surely Tendou would have told him if so, right?

“Basically,” Tendou stops walking, steps in front of Ushijima and takes his second hand in his as well, “I wanna know, do I make you feel that way too?”

“Safe?” Ushijima asks.

“Yeah,” Tendou looks away for a second, “yeah, do I make you feel safe? Do you feel safe with me? Like… physically and emotionally?”

“Yes,” Ushijima answers, just before Tendou finishes his question, “you do. You always have.”

Tendou gives one of his most genuine smiles, the one where his eyes crinkle up at their corners and his lips go all wobbly. 

“Good,” he whispers, leans forward to kiss Ushijima again, then rocks back and forth on his feet, “I’m glad. You deserve that, Wakatoshi.”

“You do too,” Ushijima squeezes both of his hands.

Tendou sighs, long and loud, studying Ushijima’s face for a few seconds before falling in step next to him again, “Well, better get back quick, huh?”

“Yes,” Ushijima agrees, thankful that they can see the school’s dorm building from where they currently are, “before it gets too late.”

“Yeah, and before it rains again,” Tendou chuckles, “cause no matter how safe we make each other feel, we can’t keep the rain away, right?”

“That’s true,” Ushijima smiles, pulls Tendou closer so their shoulders bump together again.

Whether the weather threatens it or not, Ushijima thinks he’d be willing to brave the rain again. As long as he’s got Tendou right by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! i'm always happy to hear your thoughts, no matter how big or small they are. and please feel free to reach out to me on twitter, i'd be honored if you wanted to talk to me ♡
> 
> twitter: [ushitentxt](http://www.twitter.com/ushitentxt)  
tumblr: [tendou-satori](http://www.tendou-satori.tumblr.com)  
art blog: [kat-doodles](http://www.kat-doodles.tumblr.com)  



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